Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Abdulwahab Tahhan, Holden Frith and Felicity Capon.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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Alcohol labelling
The Irish government has said it will force alcohol companies to add health warnings to their products from 2026, in an attempt to reduce alcohol-related deaths in the country. According to official statistics, one in 20 deaths in the country is the result of excess alcohol consumption. The proposals, which include graphic warnings that link drinking to cancer and other diseases, have led to a backlash in Italy and France, which have called on the EU to block them.
Extreme weather
A report published by the World Meteorological Organisation on Monday revealed that the number of people dying as a result of extreme weather has fallen dramatically over the past 50 years – despite the frequency of floods, storms and other extreme weather events rising by a factor of five over the same period. Why are we better at surviving these disasters, and will the trend continue despite climate change?
University admissions
According to a report this week, private school students are 30% more likely to get into Oxford or Cambridge if they switch to a state-funded school for their A-levels. The figures led to protests from groups representing private schools, who say their students now face unjustified discrimination. But are the country’s top universities simply correcting for inequalities embedded in the education system?
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Metal-based compounds may be the future of antibioticsUnder the radar Robots can help develop them
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Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
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Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
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The Week Unwrapped: What’s the cost of PFAs?Podcast Plus why is George Osborne joining OpenAI? And has universal basic income finally come of age?
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The Week Unwrapped: what’s scuppering Bulgaria’s Euro dream?Podcast Plus has Syria changed, a year on from its revolution? And why are humans (mostly) monogamous?
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The Week Unwrapped: Have pedigree dogs had their day?Podcast Plus what can we learn from Slovenia’s rejection of assisted dying? And can politicians admit their weaknesses?
